Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
The Exchange Art Gallery, Nottingham
4 December – 12 January
Reviewed by: S Mark Gubb
This exhibition contained a good mix of work, with all the major disciplines being represented to varying degrees of success.
Paul Frank Lewthwaite's Ship for the Sinking is an oversized rendering of an Airfix model kit with its snap-out pieces and simple assembly instructions. Whether any intent is there for the instructions to be followed is questionable but drawing these things out of our childhood into an adult world always seems to raise questions and lend a certain impact. Rebecca Davis' work consisted of a screw protruding from the wall and paint which had run down on to a piece of muslin. Having recently seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre I was reminded of the demise of one character on a meat hook. As the piece was called Untitled, I can only assume that this was her intention. Not to remind us of classic slasher movies but to make of it what you will, the problem inherent in untitled works being that we only have the aesthetic to work with. Liz Sparks' Security Blanket appeared to be a visual pun with blankets woven together to form a grid hanging down from the ceiling like a fence or one side of a cage.
Finally, Jonathan Powell deserves a mention for his gloriously cynical Calculate Your Chance of Art World Success, consisting of a page from a flip-chart with an equation on it. Simply add the relevant information into the equation such as co-efficient of skin colour and wealth, who your dad knows and your alcohol intake and this will determine just how successful you will be. Cynical, yes, but something that will strike a chord with most working artists today.
Well worth noting is the fact that twenty-two prizes were given away in all, ranging from cash to materials to exhibitions, a spread-the-wealth mentality that struck a chord with the very dormant socialist inside me.
Writer detail:
S MARK GUBB
is an artist and writer.
smarkgubb@hotmail.com |
www.smarkgubb.com
Venue detail:
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